If Only
by Dystopiac
Summary: Commissioner Gordon reviews everything that has happened since The Batman went into hiding. Post-The Dark Knight.


**Nolanverse. Meaning Commissioner Grdon Gary Oldman. A very good actor and personal favourite of mine,**

**This fic is basically just my own thoughts about what Commissioner Gordon might be thinking about a few months after the events in The Dark Knight.**

**I have to admit, this story was a little rushed as I just wanted to get it down before I forgot about it. So if sometimes it doesn't make sense or moves on too quickly, then it's entirely my fault.**

**Please read and review!**

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Commissioner Gordon never meant for this to happen. Any of it. He was used to situations getting slightly out of hand, but this was just a mess. A giant mess which sucked him and spat him out piece by piece until he nearly had a breakdown. It just happened too fast, it weighed down on him, making him feel guilty for everything that had happened. Harvey Dent, Rachel Dawes, Commissioner Loeb, Judge Surrillo, and … The Batman.

He took the blame for it all. All the murders Harvey did. He knew The Batman was noble, doing whatever was best for the corrupt city, but taking the blame and making himself, in the eye of the public, a wanted murderer put The Batman on an entirely different level. It wasn't fair to treat him like a common criminal, not after all he had done. And he was the only one who knew the truth.

Although it was best overall if nobody knew what Harvey had done, Commissioner Gordon got so stressed out some days he just wanted to tear his hair out and let everyone know what really happened. The Batman had saved his son, but Harvey had fallen. Harvey had fallen into the clasp of that maniacal, murdering, bastard, son of a bitch clown. He was locked up in Arkham Asylum now, but it wasn't enough. No where near.

Yes, they had shown The Joker that Gotham was a good city on the rise. They had shown him by taking him in by the book. There was a trial, in which The Joker was present for a few occasions, in an orange jumpsuit and deprived of his grungy make-up. That clown couldn't stop smiling throughout the whole days he was present. The days he wasn't present was due to his attacked the guards, lawyers, whoever was present at the time.

They had read his list of offences against Gotham out, the whole time Commissioner Gordon was filled with rage. _I'd jump over there and beat you halfway to Hell if I wanted. But I'm not going to. Because that's what you want._ He had been thinking throughout the trials. There were lots of people present, including some of the most famous socialites in Gotham, such as Bruce Wayne. Outside, there were crowds of people being held back by barriers. The trials were everywhere, splashed all over the newspapers, constantly debated about on the TV. Everyone wanted to know what was going to happen to the man who single handedly brought Gotham to its knees.

When they finally reached a verdict, there had been an outrage. That filthy, evil bastard had gotten the insanity plea. That man wasn't insane; he knew what he was doing. He probably threatened the psychiatrists he had been seeing, by order of the court, into giving him the evidence he needed to get the insanity plea. Instead of going to death row, where the clown belonged, he was being shipped off to Arkham, where knowing him, he'll destroy and escape from within a few months.

It just wasn't _fair._ The man had turned Harvey Dent into a depressed lunatic. Driven to the breaking point by the loss of his fiancée, and his severe burns. What he did was wrong, but it wasn't his fault. The Joker made him like that. When he put that gun to Commissioner Gordon's son's head, well, Gordon felt something rise up in his throat, a feeling he had long since forgotten about since The Joker arrived in Gotham. Pity. Gordon was ashamed to say, but he _pitied_ Harvey, the way he would a homeless man.

"_He's got the same chance she had. Fifty, fifty."_ That phrase stuck in Commissioner Gordon's head, ringing through his mind. If only he had gotten there quicker, he could have saved Miss Dawes. If only he had taken Harvey's advise, and stood up against corrupt cops. If only…

Commissioner Gordon didn't like feeling like this. Feeling sorry for himself. But the fact is, since The Joker was locked away and The Batman disappeared, Gordon had started taking anti-depressants. The job he once took pride in, became a chore. The broken spotlight on the roof of the MCU standing there, reminding him of The Batman's sacrifice.

If only he could just meet The Batman again, to thank him for what he did. He saved Gotham, and in doing so gave himself up. It had taken a few months for Gotham to get over everything that had happened, and now life went on. Only it didn't for Commissioner Gordon. His wife, Barbara, was still shell-shocked from what had happened. Their marriage was on the brink of falling apart. Gordon had to fight to keep his family safe.

His son, to think he could have lost his son that night. Then, afterwards, having to explain to James Junior why they had to hunt The Batman. James Junior called after The Batman, but all they could see was the shadow of a great hero running from the people he had saved. The Joker was right. When the chips were down, the people _did _eat each other. Only they couldn't let the clown know he was right. They had to show the clown that Gotham was not beyond the point of rescue.

Crime was actually down for once in Gotham, instead of up. Since Maroni disappeared, Gotham gangsters had simple gone away for a few months. They'd be back, but Gordon would be ready. He would thank The Batman in his own way, by locking up the criminals The Batman tried so hard to fight. The criminals that Harvey tried so hard to fight.

Commissioner Gordon sighed, and took a sip of water from the cooling bottle that sat on his desk. The evidence of The Joker's interrogation lay everywhere in the MCU. Broken computers, ruined equipment. Just another reminder of the man who plagued his dreams at night. Gordon knew The Joker would be back, and maybe, just maybe, The Batman would come back also. To "redeem" himself from the "crimes" he had committed.

The Batman was out there, in everyday life. Gordon could pass him everyday and not know. He knew that The Batman was out there, getting on with his life, witnessing how his sacrifice changed Gotham. If only Commissioner Gordon could just say "thank you".

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End file.
